


Out Of My League

by churroscuro



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Just gals being pals, nothing better than this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-15
Updated: 2017-05-27
Packaged: 2018-10-05 16:34:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10312502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/churroscuro/pseuds/churroscuro
Summary: Kara Danvers doesn't believe in leagues or someone being 'out of your league'. Not in a dating sense. For someone who can fly and burn holes in the ceiling the notion seemed a little ridiculous to say the least - she doesn't feel like she's out of anyone's league and she certainly wouldn't classify anyone she's met as out of her league. Anyway, that was before Lena Luthor came along.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hello I'm trying to do something not angsty no promises good luck

Kara Danvers did not believe in leagues. Well, not in a dating sense at least. To her it was a ridiculous notion that one person could be superior to another, especially in the sense that it meant that suddenly they weren’t compatible.

Alex had the misfortune of trying to explain the concept to Kara when she had first arrived on earth. Alex had been trying to explain _why_ she couldn’t simply go up to Sarah Cosgrove and ask to be friends. Apparently Sarah Cosgrove was _too cool_ \- her parents took her on international trips every summer and she had been to _France_.

_I’ve been to several different planets and you talk to m-_

_Don’t be stupid Kara that doesn’t count!_

Alex gave up after three days and in that time had also resigned herself to the fact she’d never be friends with Sarah Cosgrove. As it turned out, no-one wanted to be friends with Sarah Cosgrove anyway because she was cruel and malicious. More than anything that just reinforced the idea that leagues didn’t exist. No-one was _that cool_.

Anyway, that was before Lena Luthor. Lena Luthor as a person was fine. She was lovely, charming and had such a pretty face. Kara was easily infatuated with many people who were similarly charismatic and beautiful. That was nothing new.

Unfortunately Lena had a way of intrusively occupying her thoughts. A toothy grin or seductive smirk almost floored Kara in a way she hadn’t felt in a long while. It was almost childish, really. She felt childish and bumbling and almost _idiotic_ as she stumbled over words or fiddled with her hands. Something in Lena’s eyes set fire to Kara’s soul.

Kara would find herself laughing at something Lena said and _god_ it wasn’t even that funny. It wasn’t. Here she was, though, goofy and red-faced.

Lena was standing by her side at this very moment, gesturing wildly at some abstract piece of art on the wall. She seemed to know what she was talking about but Kara very much did not. Her lips and voice curved up into a stifled laugh as she told some intellectual joke. That’s what landed Kara in her current predicament.

Goofy, confused laughter that was worsened by her now-red face. Lena continued speaking, her words blending back into the hum of the night. She may as well have been speaking another language but Kara enjoyed the sounds and tones all the same. She enjoyed the way the gallery lights brought out the redness of her jacket and lipstick and how it played with Lena’s eyes so brilliantly. She very much enjoyed the way Lena’s hair was pulled back into a tight bun, her pale skin contrasting so nicely with her black hair. Yeah they were in a gallery, sure, but at the risk of being…(what was the word? Cliché?) At the risk of being cliché - Lena was the real work of art.

Kara could fly and stop spaceships from jumping into hyperspace and burn a hole in the ceiling with her eyes - if anyone was out of anyone’s league, surely Kara would be out of theirs. Kara didn’t see it that way because she just saw herself as Kara. So how could leagues exist? Regardless of who was in what league Lena Luthor was babbling about art and Kara’s breath kept catching. Her heart was pounding and she kept giggling like an idiot at _jokes that weren’t even funny_ . So if Lena Luthor, bad joke-teller and liker of art galleries, could reduce the girl of steel herself to a bundle of nerves and laughter then leagues simply _couldn’t_ exist.

Lena pulled Kara from one room to the next and they bumped into some people that Lena knew. They all politely introduced themselves. They were the gallery owners, apparently. They, like Lena, were dressed in very fine clothing which was probably a month’s paycheck for Kara. Including the DEO pocket money. Kara was dressed in the cheapest dress she could find in the most expensive shop she dared to walk into. Boy, did it show.

The entire thing was last minute. Lena had phoned the day before and asked Kara if she liked art. Kara panicked and said yes, despite the fact that her only experience with art galleries were from school and she hated filling out the questionnaires they gave each of the students. Lena mentioned she had an invitation to this exhibition’s opening - it was fairly high profile and CatCo had even run a few stories on it across their various publication platforms. Kara had actually recognised one of the reporters and had masterfully ducked away to avoid eye-contact earlier that night.

Alex, who knew Kara arguably better than Kara knew Kara, had teased her about it being a date. Kara had vehemently refused, though, because Lena Luthor was flirtatious with _everyone_ and _just_ because Kara was easily infatuated did _not_ give her a free pass at calling it a date. Either way Lena had her arm looped around Kara’s the entire night. Kara also wondered if super smell was a power she had because Lena’s perfume was downright overwhelming in close quarters.

“...isn’t that right, Kara?”

Kara was stunned back into reality, her eyes already on Lena but the words leading up to the question now lost to the night.

“W-what was that?”

Lena gave a chuckle, so low and alluring as always, “You’re an ace reporter at CatCo. Jeremy was talking about all the press he’s had to deal with and I just mentioned how helpful you’ve been to me.” Something in the way Lena said ‘me’ made Kara almost zone out again. She wondered if the real reason Lena had no friends is because it was just easier to _not_ be in love with someone you’re friends with. “She’s usually not such a space cadet, though.” She laughed and turned back to the gallery owners as if she was sharing an inside joke.

The gallery owners laughed in response. Maybe it was just a contagious Lena thing, making people laugh at things that weren’t funny.

They parted ways and Lena pulled Kara more off to the side, gently asking, “Everything alright?”

Kara turned red again. She didn’t particularly want to explain that she’d been distracted by Lena’s perfume.

“Oh yeah, sorry. Was thinking about work. But I’m all here now, completely present!”

Lena raised her eyebrows and Kara found herself fixating. Kara was seventeen when Alex finally explained what little she knew about makeup. Kara didn’t know until Lena, though, exactly how powerful a good eyebrow could be.

“I hope I’m not boring you with tedious art rants.”

Kara raised her arms and began to shake them about emphatically, desperately convincing Lena otherwise, “No, no, no not at all, Lena. No I love hearing you talk about art.”

Lena smirked and her eyebrows settled, “That’s not the first time I’ve heard that line.”

Did that really clarify as a line? Was this another pseudo-inside joke? Why did it make Kara smile regardless?

“I don’t know much about art. I really like hearing about it from someone who does. I wish I had an eye for it like you do.”

Lena rolled her head to the side, almost blushing through her layers of makeup, and her smirk turned to a grin, “You’re too sweet. I honestly don’t know that much. Not as much as Lex used to. It comes with the territory of being a Luthor, I guess. All things expensive and fancy.”

Lena perhaps wasn’t wrong. Maybe not a Luthor-exclusive thing, but a rite of passage for all families of grand power and standing. Kara had known quite a fair bit about Kryptonian art and architecture, though all of it was more utilitarian by the time Kara was born. They’d been through their periods of abstraction and expressionism many centuries before Kara’s existence. All that remained from those eras were digital replicas as a reminder of their past, not for any cultural engagement that’s for sure.

“Are you certain I’m not boring you?” Lena said, still a hint of laughter but a taste of concern too now, “You keep wandering off into space.”

Kara laughed dryly, “I do that.”

“Easy to see why you and Supergirl are good friends, then.” Lena quipped back.

Kara smiled, Lena taking that moment to wrap her arm around Kara’s again. As Kara was dragged off to another artwork she couldn’t help but place Lena amongst the hierarchy of Krypton. Where would the Luthors stand? That was uncertain. Lena as a person, though, could easily match the great house of El. Maybe surpass it. Perhaps transcend the hierarchy altogether.

It was then, in that moment, that Kara regrettably came to terms with why she was so giddy and nervous around Lena all the time. Why the stupid pseudo-inside jokes reduced Kara to a giggling mess. Why Kara cared so much about Lena’s stupid eyebrows and the way her lipstick matched her jacket perfectly. It was the same reason Alex couldn’t simply ask Sarah Cosgrove to be friends with her all those years ago.

There were no other earthly words for it. She’d resisted it the entire evening. _Especially_ when Lena kept staring her down with those brilliant green eyes as she babbled on coherently about some great European art movement of the early 1900s. Here she was, dumbstruck in front of another painting she couldn’t understand the purpose of, looking at the face of a woman who could charm her way through an entire crowd of people using nothing but a raised eyebrow. Leaping a building in a single bound meant nothing.

Goddamnit, Lena Luthor was just out of her league.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the pressure to perform is surreal guys I hope you like it

Lena Luthor knew a lot about a great many things. She could ramble on and on about great works of art. Her father, Lionel, would spend many evenings with her in his study explaining classical music and its brilliance. Lillian, to a point, had tutored her in chess. Lex would speak of nothing but science and maths - though sometimes his descriptions sounded more like fantasy and science fiction.

Lena Luthor had been taught all manner of things intellectual and theoretical. Women were her specialty. She’d dedicated a significant portion of her college years to studying women. They were elusive for the longest time, however she felt she had a pretty decent grip on them now. Unfortunately if there was one subject that still eluded her it was Kara Danvers. She was unlike anyone Lena had met.

Kara was very average, actually, apart from the fact she was a blight on Lena's productivity. She was your typical nice, young millennial who spent too much time grinning and being naive about the state of affairs. She must have been meticulous with her hair and moisturising routine because she had neither blemish nor flyaways even on the driest days of the year.

The fact that Lena was considering her moisturising routine was proof enough that something was wrong. She had done much searching for something to aggravate her about this annoyingly average girl. Yet nothing did. She was clever, witty and steely when she needed to be. She was kind and trusting to a fault. She was friends with Supergirl - that said plenty.

There should be a reason for Lena to spend so much time thinking of Kara - there should be a reason as to why she still couldn’t figure this girl out. It took her quite a long while to realise it wasn’t because something aggravated her about the girl, as much as she would have liked to think so, but rather because _nothing_ aggravated her about Kara Danvers at _all_.

Suddenly if Kara was bored listening to Lena talk about art then that mattered. Why did it matter? Lena couldn’t care less what people thought of her. Except for one particular bright-eyed, blonde-haired reporter from Midvale. (Talk about average!)

Infatuation came easy to Lena. She was flirtatious with every pretty woman that glanced her way. A lot of pretty women glanced her way. Suddenly average Kara was all-consuming though. She was far from average, Lena stubbornly decided. She had to be! There was definitely more than her surface persona, Lena was sure of it, because suddenly she was performing grand gestures for Kara, cleared her schedule for Kara, talked more than she should about the company for Kara. Lena was used to pretty girls. She wasn’t used to Kara!

Lena had spent a while thankful that she could live in her fantasy world where her gestures meant nothing. She could pass it off as friendly behaviour and she’d indulge in herself by indulging in Kara. Why not give the pretty girl an office full of flowers? Why not tell her assistant to always show Kara in, regardless of her schedule?

The trouble _now_ was that Kara was still making time for Lena. She, too, would clear her schedule. She’d go to art galleries with Lena even though Lena was now fairly certain Kara would rather watch grass grow. She would laugh at every stupid joke that would come out of Lena’s mouth even if it wasn’t funny.

What’s worse, Lena found herself looking for any excuse to make a stupid joke now. Just to hear her stupid, beautiful laugh.

Lena knew it was ridiculous to actually think that Kara was anything but a friend. After all she had plenty of guy friends that seemed to fawn over her. Naturally she seemed to attract all walks of life - everyone loved being in her presence and she loved being in their presence equally as much, or so it seemed. She mentioned troubles with boys in the past. Not that it excluded her from liking girls, of course, but her love life was obviously already fully booked. Therefore Kara would remain as a friend that Lena could indulge in for now - like a guilty pleasure.

Lena looked up from her bed into the city that was sprawled below. The sun was creeping up the sky and she’d noticed Supergirl zipping around earlier, no doubt on one of her many patrols. Kara’s place wasn’t too far, she could see the edge of Kara’s building actually - which is what she was searching for now. Kara herself would be hidden by another skyscraper, but it was almost nice to think she was so close. Lena found herself smiling more than was reasonable - all for the simple reason that the pair had organised to get coffee together later that day.

Lena was to be at Kara’s in two hours. She had plenty of time to get ready and yet no time to prepare. If she was the religious type she’d scream up to the heavens and ask what business they had in sending down this _alien_ of a girl to ruin her life.

Why was she wasting her weekends in quirky cafes all of a sudden? Well, this was Kara’s choice after the art gallery. Lena figured she could swallow her pride for one morning after the apparently boring night she’d put Kara through.

So Lena got ready. She fixated on her shade of lipstick, wondered how to best emphasise its colour with her choice of clothing. Her hair she decided to wear up, even if she preferred it down on her days off. Secretly she’d spent five minutes wondering if Kara preferred her hair up or down before realising it _didn’t matter_ because _Kara wasn’t interested_.

Either way Lena applied her makeup with a skilled and steady hand. She slipped into a pair of heels and she called her driver around in time for her to pick up some donuts enroute.

Lena considered getting flowers but she figured she’d _done_ flowers - it was hard to follow up an office full of them with a single measly bunch. Chocolates were too much of a gift with a motive of some sort. She almost risked buying bagels but donuts were at least tried and tested - food was Kara’s forte but what if she somehow didn’t like bagels? She couldn’t risk that. No, donuts were the right decision. It was a nice, thoughtful gift that didn’t have too much thought put into it. Or at least it wouldn’t seem that way - it would seem like an on-the-fly decision.

Hopefully.

Kara couldn’t actually think Lena was putting too much effort into this friendship - she didn’t want to look pathetic or pining or anything silly like that.

Anyway - the donuts. She got them and arrived at Kara’s apartment just on time. Kara would appreciate the donuts; she would not know (or ever find out) that Lena had dedicated so much brainpower into getting them. Lena had also already made a conscious decision to not babble on about pointless things that Kara had no interest in. Above all else she knew she could not make a fool of herself.

Everything was going to plan.

Then Kara opened the door.

_Goddamn._

Lena broke into a grin almost instantly. She almost dropped her damn donuts. She don’t know how or why but she kept forgetting about how Kara’s eyes lit up at food. It sent electric through her whole body just watching Kara fall in love with the little brown paper bag Lena was holding.

“Bagels?”

“Donuts.”

“Even better!”

_Thank god_.

Lena didn’t quite remember entering the apartment but she found herself leaning against Kara’s counter and helplessly gazing into those beautiful blue eyes when Kara was going on about her morning. Kara kept fumbling over her words and her hands jittered nervously with the donuts as she tried to move them onto plates.

Kara kept waving her hands in apology and Lena couldn’t really do anything but smile and laugh back.

_It’s okay. It’s so okay_.

When Kara leaned against the counter too their faces were barely half a metre apart and _goddamnit_ Lena accidentally brushed some hair out of Kara’s face and behind her ear without even thinking about it. Kara’s words faded away and her cheeks went bright red. Lena would flirt but she was very good at policing her actions. Since when did she completely forget about inhibition?

Lena just laughed the moment off and asked Kara to continue her story but if she was struggling to listen to the words before it was nigh impossible now. She was trying to figure out how to stop her heart pounding in her ears. She tried to stop all the intrusive thoughts about exactly what could transpire after an innocent grazing of the hands, the cheek, a thigh.

Women made sense to Lena. Kara Danvers still baffled her. It was getting to the point where regardless of the fact she was from Midvale and was only a reporter made no difference - _no-one_ had this power over Lena in her entire life. Not even Beth Porter - the first girl Lena had ever kissed under a table at some gala the Luthors were holding almost a decade ago.

No, Lena had masterfully flirted her way into Beth Porter’s arms. Beth even thought the entire thing was her idea! Kara Danvers came along and ruined all of that. Lena couldn’t even control herself long enough to tell herself not to push a strand of hair behind Kara’s ear. That was reckless and, if Lena was less intimidating, could come off as uncool and  _giddy_. Lena Luthor was neither of those thing.

God this was going to be a long coffee date.

Even longer if Kara kept brushing her hand across Lena's arm in a nonchalant manner.

Longer still if Kara kept looking into Lena’s eyes and smiling like _that_ as she did so, as if she knew _exactly_ what she was doing.

If Lena was a religious person she'd start praying right there and then because she had reached her point of critical mass. All the cosmic entities in the universe could not stop her from crashing face first into this crush now. The feeble notion of friendship flew out the window, whisked away by Supergirl herself she was certain. Kara Danvers was not average. Average did not reduce Lena to uncool and giddy. That was some super-human stuff.

Lena Luthor was well and truly done for. Super-reporter from Midvale Kara Danvers, chronic befriender of all and audience for bad jokes, was more than just a hapless, passing infatuation. No, this was the real deal, unfortunately. The trick now, since Lena was feeling particularly reckless, would be determining if Kara felt the same way.

Which would be fine.

If Kara wasn't so...

_Kara_.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey fronds literally I love your messages I wish I could shower you with as much love as you guys are showering me

Kara decided she preferred Lena’s hair up. She loved it when it was down, too, but when it was up Kara could watch every tendon in her neck stretch and strain with every movement. Kara could see the entirety of the pretty, expensive necklaces that hung on her collar. Kara, in increasingly frequent bursts of intrusive thoughts, could think of pressing her lips against the skin below Lena’s jaw.

None of that was possible when Lena’s hair was down.

Kara also felt herself getting distracted by Lena’s lipstick.  It was a perfect red, you see.  Kara never liked the bright red of frank blood. Not here on earth, at least - it reminded her too much of Rao in its final days. On the contrary, she loved the deep almost-purple of burgundy. Lena had a habit of wearing clothes that brought out all the beauty and subtlety of that, no doubt very expensive, shade of lipstick.

They were halfway through their date at the coffee shop when Lena paused, almost embarrassed, and asked, “Am I boring you again, Kara?”

In all honesty she had not been boring her at all. In fact, Lena was rambling again - another thing Kara very much liked. 

Not about art this time, thankfully, but about LCorp. Lena was so passionate about such a variety of things it was difficult to conceive that the world in general perceived her as nothing more than an icy exterior. She didn’t quite have the same tendency of expressing her passion with her hands, like Kara did, but her emotion came across all the same with the intensity of her stare.

“No! No, God no. You’re not boring me at all.”

“Oh...it’s just you aren’t saying much.”

Kara’s train of thought got lost somewhere in Lena’s eyes. Her mouth hung agape and her eyebrows were almost meeting as her baffled expression searched for some explanation as to  _ how _ a woman could be so enchanting without some magical power.

See, Kara had been working on a plan to neutralise the intensity of her crush for Lena. The woman was a CEO of a very important company - so obviously she’d have no time or interest in a bumbling upstart journalist. That and Lena flirted with  _ everyone _ . Kara kept reminding herself of that. So she’d devised a plan.

The first step of her plan (which was to not go on another pseudo-date with Lena) had already miserably failed. Kara realised she needed her goals to be realistic because, let’s face it, if Lena Luthor phones you up first thing in the morning and starts talking works and laughing in your ear and asks you out on a ‘lunch date’ when you’re barely half-awake then she was never going to be able to say no to another date in the first place.

Her new step one was to stop staring at Lena so much. She wasn’t doing too great in that department either, especially given that Lena had just been rambling. And she was wearing her hair up. And that lipstick, of course. How could she forget the lipstick? 

It felt childish and petulant but whenever she caught Lena staring back it  _ consistently _ made her blush. The way Lena would smirk when she got caught too - god! That was enough to make  _ any  _ reasonable girl swoon.

Her step two, which she was doing slightly better at, was to not make Lena laugh. So far Lena had only laughed once - and that was at one of her own jokes. It still shot electric through her body. It wasn’t a risk Kara could take - Lena had been especially giggly on the phone whenever Kara even remotely said something with humour. Hence the staying silent and just listening to Lena rambling. 

As it turned out Lena was as good at being a friend as she was at talking. Kara hadn’t planned for that, so now she had no prepared explanation for being so quiet.

“I just...really like it when you talk about LCorp.”

Lena raised her eyebrow and shot Kara a look that threatened to make her start floating away. A lazy smirk with such beautiful, piercing eyes. Her voice was musical when she replied, a laugh threatening to surface if Kara said anything particularly endearing, “Am I on the record right now, Miss Danvers?”

Kara threw up her hands in defiance, always reacting so emphatically that maybe Lena would one day think she was being false in her sincerity, “No! God, no Lena not at all. I-...I just meant that...you know I’m glad it makes you happy.”

Lena leant back and seemed to size up Kara with a once-over with her eyes, “You know if I’m talking too much you can tell me to stop.” Before Kara could say anything though Lena asked, “What’s going on in your life? Any... _ boys _ ?”

The way Lena said ‘boys’ made it sound foreign in her mouth. She was grinning like she’d just said a curse word in another language. Kara turned red and shook her head which only prompted Lena to tilt her head, “Girls?”

_ Goddamnit _ .

Kara short-circuited. Almost.

Her cheeks went red and spots appeared in her vision as all circulation was redirected to her head and heart.

_ Thump, thump, thump _ .

How much time had passed? Could Kara still get away with saying no? Could she get away with pretending she misheard? Maybe she could go back and say  _ yes _ she  _ did _ have boys in her life? All of this would be so much easier.

Both of Lena’s eyebrows raised now which, unfortunately, meant that Kara had been quiet for far too long.

“Oh?”

Kara Danvers was  _ not _ some petty lovestruck teenager. She hadn’t even felt this way about her first crush back on Krypton. She never let her feelings get in the way of good relationships. She was still friends with James, after all. She fought for her friendship with Winn, too, after he revealed his feelings.

Yet here she was. Avoiding a question because if there’s one super power Kara didn’t have - it’s lying.

Kara just started to laugh - giddy and overenthusiastic, “What?  _ No _ . Me? I-... _ no _ . I mean not that that’s...like I mean I do like g _ir_ _ - _ but not-...I mean no. No there’s no-one.”

Lena’s face was unreadable but as seductive as always as she lifted her drink to her lips, “If you say so.”

Lena was smirking again.

Goddamnit.

Regardless of what Lena thought before she definitely would have thought Kara was an idiot now. A bumbling, romantic idiot.

“I-...what about you?!” Kara said, her voice still quite tense and overcompensatory.

Lena finished her drink and set the cup down carefully in front of her. She settled back in her seat and still grinned. If Lena wasn’t a Luthor Kara would definitely have a hard time believing this girl was  _ just _ a human. No magic. No solar-powered superpowers. Just her.

“I have my eyes on someone.” Lena replied, cryptically.

“Who?” Kara sounded more concerned than she did supportive.

Lena laughed and answered straight away, “Well at the moment,  _ you _ .” Kara felt her heart lurch. Judging by the way Lena laughed again, though, she realised it was meant to be a ‘my eyes are on you because I’m looking at you’ joke.  _ Not funny _ .

Kara blushed regardless. Lena must have seen it but said nothing of it. She just kept smiling and laughing. Kara was overloaded with emotion but she wondered if it was reality or a figment of her imagination that Lena was blushing too now.

Figment.  _ Definitely _ a figment. For her heart’s sake, at least.

They didn’t stay much longer at the cafe. Lena thankfully began talking again and moved the subject onto LCorp once more. She asked Kara about CatCo but Kara was still struggling with words at that point.

Lena then walked Kara back to her apartment. At some point they had linked arms to cross a road and then never really unlinked. Lena was still rambling. With her heels on she was as tall as Kara.

Kara didn’t know why she noticed that.

Once at Kara’s front door Lena promptly excused herself. They unlocked arms but Lena’s hand stayed on Kara’s arm as she took a half step across. They were face to face and Lena’s voice was deep and husky, “Thank you for lunch today. It was lovely.” Her hand squeezed against Kara’s arm and Lena almost had a double-take - she must have noticed that Kara’s muscles were  _ super _ rock hard. Nevertheless Lena did not comment. She quickly regained composure and returned her eyes to Kara’s. Kara was too busy fixating on the lipstick again to really notice, though. What Kara did see was when Lena smirked that same, mischievous smirk as always, and whispered, “I can’t wait to hear more about this mystery girl.”

Kara opened her mouth to say something but she was as successful then as she had been throughout the rest of the day. Nothing came out and Lena leant in really,  _ very _ close.

Lena’s lips pressed into Kara’s cheek, dangerously close to the corner of her mouth, and she gave a quick kiss before pulling back and saying, “I hope to see you again soon.”

All Kara could do was close her mouth and nod. She offered a half-hearted smile but it probably came out more as a grimace because  _ how  _ was she meant to deal with  _ that _ ?

Yeah, Kara’s plan of neutralising her crush for Lena?

Not happening.

Not today. 

Not tomorrow.

Probably not ever.

Magic or not - that woman had cast a spell over Kara Danvers. Kara was pretty certain there was no way for it to be undone. She didn’t mind it but, you know, she would definitely have to come up with a more solid plan to deal with her crush. It was a lot harder than she'd been expecting.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this chapter entirely on my phone because I just moved states and everything is still in boxes lol. Also hence the delay. I have a tendency to get into a character-study mode when I'm writing on a mobile or tablet device lmao. Another chapter or two to go! Pls enjoy, I live for your approval and support.

Lena was arriving fashionably late. It was part of her plan to exude confidence and mystery and some sense of allure. Also the traffic was bad. Supergirl had just punched some alien into the main street ahead an hour earlier, during peak hour, and it was only just beginning to clear.

_ I'm at the bar. Kara. _

Why Kara felt the need to sign her name was beyond Lena’s knowledge. Still, it felt sweet.

Lena considered texting back but, again, mystery and allure. Then again, maybe being late was just a jerk move. Not that Lena had any control over an alien being punched into a main street.

Before Lena could make a decision the universe decided for her. Jess was ringing her. It would be important, her assistant was almost floored when Lena said she was leaving early for  _ drinks with a friend _ . Jess had vowed not to not interrupt unless the company itself was on fire.

Glancing back through the city Lena saw no sign of smoke, at least.

Lena pulled the phone up to her ear and before she could get a word in Jess fired off like a rocket.

“I know I said I'd only call if the building was on fire but I just thought you should know that you left your house keys here and I thought about bringing them but I didn't want to bother you at dinner but also I didn't want you to get home and realise you didn't have them I could drop them off at your building if you want-”

“My keys? I'm having drinks downtown - isn't that out of your way?”

Lena began negotiating her way out of the car and through a crowd of people. Jess really had picked quite a time to phone.

“ _ Oh, not really. It’s on my way home actually, Miss Luthor _ .”

“Oh.” Lena sounded back. She'd made her way to the foyer of the casino. The bar Kara would be sitting should be closeby, at least. “Well if it's not a hassle, Jess. If it's too out of your way I'll just send my driver back.”

“ _ No, of course! I'll see you soon _ .”

Kara had spotted Lena before Lena had spotted her. Lena turned to her and caught her staring with those big, blue eyes.

“I-I…” Lena smiled at Kara and almost let go of her phone, “Sure thing. See you soon.”

Lena now couldn't care less about her keys or Jess or anything, really. She felt herself being pulled over to Kara and, in a moment of weakness, she leant in and greeted her with a kiss on the cheek. Redness spread across Kara’s face with a smile.

“Sorry I'm late,” Lena said casually, “traffic was hell.”

Kara nodded earnestly, giggling slightly as she looked Lena up and down, “Sorry about that.”

Lena arched a single brow and couldn't stop her grin from widening even further, “What for? It's not your fault National City is now the hotspot for alien brawls.”

Kara tensed with her smile this time, her muscles causing Lena to double take in a not so subtle way. So much for seeming mysterious and alluring. Unchecked hunger was all written on her face.

“Do you want a drink?” Kara offered.

Lena offered out her hand and waited for Kara to take it. With a low voice she said, “Follow me.”

From Lena’s younger years (post-college) she'd spent many nights at the casino or various bars and restaurants in Metropolis. This one was no different. Same owner as Metropolis casino, in fact. Lena had socialised her way through the ranks of power.

Young entrepreneurs such as herself tended to frequent these places and flash cash at the betting tables. Older money tended to sit back and drink the most expensive scotch on the shelf. 

Lena was somewhere in-between. Especially with a pretty girl to impress. 

Lena was never much of a gambler. She preferred games she knew she could win. Poker involved enough lying for her to enjoy but was nothing impressive to a girl like Kara.

**“** Oh wow.” Lena heard quietly behind her. She turned to glance at Kara who was entranced by rows and rows of pokies and tables.

“Have you been to a casino before?”

**“** Never.”

Ah.

Lena pulled Kara through the crowd all the way to the back. Elaborate marble staircases surrounded by even more elaborate waterfalls. Maybe this place was too pretentious to bring a girl like Kara. This had been Lena’s surefire way to enamour a pretty girl back in the day but Kara was...well, Kara.

They walked up the staircase, Lena still leading, and walked through to a bar that was small and exclusive.

The security guard gave Lena a nod as they passed. Oh, by the way, Lena did  _ partly _ own this casino. Well. The Luthors did. Lionel was a businessman and scientist rolled into one.

The Luthor fortune unfortunately did not come purely from scientific gadgets sold to the military. That certainly bolstered it. Enough to make a company dedicated to science and alien detecting gadgets.

But investments sent the Luthors to Europe a few times a year, bought mansions across America, afforded them a private helicopter or jet or two. Their loyal accountants and consultants looked after their money well enough. God knows they got paid enough to do a good job with it.

Anyway, the night, the bar, the gleam in Kara's eye. She looked in awe of the bar in a way that kids marvel at glow in the dark star stickers.

The bar itself was very modern. Small but inviting. Its appeal lay in its location though. From the bar itself you got a spectacular view on the zoo of gamblers below - a sea of surreality where they had no idea they were being watched and would throw money and chips across the tables in rage or glee. Then from the seats there was a spectacular view of the river and the south side of National City beyond it. City performers, sculptures, every abstract piece of culture you could cram into a sidewalk was laid out in front of them. A bit of the bay could be seen to the east as well. It really was a beautiful city.

“How did you even know about this place? And,” she picked up the placard that was on the table they moved to, “how did you get a reservation? It seems fairly exclusive.”

Lena just laughed, “I know people.”

Kara gave a nod. She seemed to feel and look out of place. She wasn't underdressed, per se, but in a room filled with suits and black dresses a tight button up stuck out.

“You look beautiful, Kara. I envy anyone who can look that good after a day of hard work.”

Kara laughed and gestured to Lena, “Come on. You look…” she just gestured again.

Lena leant in and laughed, not really having an answer. She'd just felt the compliment rise out of her. Kara really kept hindering her ability to regulate her words in any capacity.

A bartender interrupted their eye contact, though seemed hesitant to do so. Kara was flustered and began searching for a menu. Lena ordered herself a glass of scotch, neat.

Kara panicked and ordered club soda.

“I take you to one of the most exclusive bars around and you order club soda.” Lena said, more jesting than anything.

Kara turned red again. She seemed...not embarrassed. Reluctant?

“I...don't have much experience with...alcohol.”

“We don't have to stay at a bar if it makes you uncomfortable.”

Kara's overenthusiastic waving of her hands started up as if on cue, “No! No, it's not that. No I mean, alcohol is fine I just…” Kara bit her lip and looked almost nervous when she admitted, “Alcohol just never affected me.”

Before Lena could draw more out of her the bartender returned with their drinks. Lena took a sip of her scotch and set it down, sizing up Kara again and again.

Their conversation turned to work. Kara began to relax once they started talking. Lena understood, hypothetically, why she might feel self conscious in this sort of bar but she wished she could just tell Kara she was more gorgeous than any other person in the room. If people stared it'd only be because Kara was almost glowing with her own light.

How was Lena meant to compare with that? Sure she'd taken more trips to Europe than most people had taken to a neighbouring state but all that meant nothing compared to someone who could light up a room with a smile. Depressing, really.

Who was she kidding? Kara deserved better than the most exclusive bar in National City with one of the best views of the city itself. She deserved whatever it was that was a step above that. Maybe a dinner literally in the clouds. Supergirl could play host.

Before Lena's mind could wander too far a familiar face arrived in her peripheral vision.

“Miss Luthor! Here you go.” Jess placed down the key before letting her eyes glance to Kara, “Oh  _ good evening _ Miss Danvers. It's nice to see Miss Luthor with  _ friends _ .”

Jess knew too much for her own good. She knew Lena far too well. She probably knew before Lena had that this  _ crush _ was stupidly more serious than it should have been.

“Oh, Jess! Are you joining us?”

Jess shook her head before Lena could speak, “Oh no. I'd hate to interrupt your date.”

Lena was going to murder Jess. She’d said it in a friendly enough way though that Kara couldn't have guessed any layers of meaning behind it.

Either way the word made Kara blush again. She really was prone to that. Or was it just Lena’s imagination?

“What's your game of choice, Miss Danvers? Miss Luthor enjoys some poker.”

Lena sharply interrupted, “No gambling tonight, Jess. I have work tomorrow.”

Jess seemed appalled, “You deal with risk and reward every day, Miss Luthor. Surely you can see that you have  _ very little to risk _ and  _ very much to gain _ tonight.” Jess figured her addition was unwelcome when she saw Lena’s face. “I'll see you at work tomorrow Miss Luthor. No appointments until midday. You can turn up late if you find yourself busy-”

“Good  _ evening _ Jess.”

“Evening.” She replied with a smarmy smile.

Jess left. Kara seemed curious now though.

“Was...Jess trying to say something?”

Lena felt her throat close up. She forced a pretty smile, one that drew Kara’s piercing eyes down to Lena’s red lips.

_ You  _ are _ in a casino, Lena, you may as well take a gamble. _

“She thought I might get busy tonight, that's all. What, with the alcohol, pretty ladies…”

The smile dropped from Kara’s face and she bit her lip slightly. Jess had a point. What was she risking if she took a gamble here, really? Apart from her first real friendship in years.

“You never did tell me about that mystery girl of yours.” Lena said, sipping her scotch once more. 

Kara started, sounds and laughs coming out more than comprehensible words.

“You don't have to tell me who. I just want to know what sort of person makes Kara Danvers tick.”

Kara hastily took up her club soda and downed the rest of it in one go. She then tried to wring all the skin off her hands, or so it seemed with the ferocity of her rubbing, “Oh...she...you know...very pretty...smart…”

“I'd expect nothing less.” Lena said lazily, she leant forwards now and pushed her words, “But  _ what's so special _ about her?”

Kara's eyes lifted to meet Lena's again. She held her stare as she bit her lip and dug her hands under her arms.

“She's good. Even when no one is looking.  _ Especially _ when no one is looking. And she's smart.” Kara began to ease into her words. They came more freely with every sentence. “She's smarter than anyone I've ever met. Probably smarter than Alex and that's...I've never met anyone like her.” Without prompting Kara closed her eyes with a smile and said, “And she just has a knack for making me feel like no-one else is in the room.”

Lena shifted closer, now closer to Kara’s side of the table than she was to her own. The move seemed right, Kara making her confessions feel more intimate than they should have been.

“Sounds like you've got a bit of a problem on your hands.”

Kara didn't seem surprised Lena had moved closer when she opened her eyes. Lena didn't feel inclined to give justification either.

Kara continued, still without prompting.

“I keep...kind of going on dates with her.” Kara's eyes fell to Lena's lips again. Lena wondered if Kara could hear her heart. Lena felt it was loud enough to deafen the entire building. It picked up even more when she glanced to Kara’s lips in return. “It's driving me mad. When she laughs. When she talks. All I want to do is…”

Lena ran her fingers across Kara's hand gently. She was playing the supportive friend role. That's what she was telling herself, at least.

“Kiss her?” Lena said quietly.

Kara's voice was low when she replied, “In many places.”

Lena felt fire shoot through her gut. Her legs went weak and her fingers stopped on Kara's hand. When Lena returned to the world of the living Kara was looking back up into Lena's eyes.

“Oh, you  _ really _ like this girl.”

Kara's head was nodding very slowly. Her eyes furrowed with some unknown revelation.

“I...I'm starting to think she might like me back.”

Lena curled her fingers around Kara's hand and gave her the slightest squeeze. Lena had a hunch but her thoughts were a little too distracted to be called coherent, “You should find out.”

_ Keep the ball in her court, goddamnit Lena. Don't fuck it up. _

Kara seemed to pause for a moment and take stock of the situation. She really was quite alien sometimes. It was as if she was never really certain whether a particular social cue was correct or not. She had to calculate. Consider. Decide.

Kara ended up taking the moment after all, along with Lena's breath. Kara leant in and closed the distance between the pair, her eyes closed and her mouth slightly parted.

Before Kara could second guess Lena bit down on Kara’s lip, trapping her close as she wrapped her hands around Kara’s cheeks and pulled their bodies even closer. When Lena started their kiss again she ran her fingers through the oceans of blonde that spiralled across Kara's face.

Mysterious wasn't working (the so uncool desperation in her kiss saw to that) but alluring perhaps had done its job.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your patience everyone! Sorry for being MIA - new city, new job yadda yadda yadda. Hope y'all enjoyed the finale as much as I did. Crying Kara = Crying Me. Thanks always for your support :) it means the world to me!

Okay. First things first. Lena Luthor had  **no business** turning up nonchalantly looking gorgeous, talking on her phone, trapped in a certain light that makes people fall in love with strangers.

Lena Luthor had no business taking Kara’s hand and leading her through a beautifully big building filled with lights and pretty people.

Lena Luthor had no business reserving a table at a bar that overlooked the beautiful river all while grinning and glancing and looking so gorgeous.

What's more - Lena's secretary came in talking about risk and reward and Lena said something about alcohol and pretty girls and-

Look. Kara was never given a fighting chance.

Here she was. Recovering from a single moment which had managed to flip her world upside down.

Sure, she'd imagined kissing Lena before.

Nothing like the real thing.

Firstly, Lena's lips were softer, more pliant than Kara had imagined. Lena was characteristically fierce and passionate with her kiss. Also being so close to each other Kara got a full afront of that perfume that smelt so good it made her dizzy.

Maybe that was just Lena, though.

Kara sat with her hand on her mouth for more than a few moments. Lena was smirking at her, looking as if she'd just won first prize at the science fair, even beating that annoying kid who kept saying girls weren't smart enough for science.

The bartender came and Lena said something and another drink of some sort was placed in front of Kara. This one looked like Lena's.

Kara downed it in one go.

Not her best idea - it burned and made her eyes water even with her Kryptonian physiology. For a brief moment Kara felt the effects of intoxication. Maybe very ancient scotch could be an expensive, human way to get drunk then.

“If that doesn't affect you I don't know what will.” Lena said with a laugh.

Kara was feeling quite annoyed if anything. Lena sat there so coolly after doing all those things and making Kara  _ want _ to kiss her so badly.

Lena's brain wasn't short-circuiting! It didn’t appear to be, at least.

When Kara opened her mouth to reply she couldn't find any words. Instead her eyes fell once again to Lena's lips and she thought about kissing her again.

No need. Lena closed this distance this time. Just a quick, soft kiss. Lena was chuckling again when she pulled back, but she didn't move too far away at all, still staying close enough that it just felt like the two of them in the entire room, “Oh, you don't know what you do to me, Kara Danvers.”

Kara felt her limbs go numb and blood rushed to her head.

_ What  _ I _ do to  _ you?

Kara bit her lip again, still feeling the phantom pressure of Lena’s lips on her own. Lena seemed to be very much enjoying the way Kara was coping - or failing to cope, really.

“I’m beginning to think you planned this.”

Lena laughed. Again. Softer this time, more to herself than in reaction to what Kara had said. “In that regard I’m not nearly as conniving as I’d like to be.” Lena finished off the remainder of her own drink and then leaned back into the backing of their seats. She seemed calm and cool but suddenly very vulnerable all at once. Her hand ran through her hair and Kara was only just beginning to notice how flushed Lena’s cheeks were.

“So…” Kara started. She then cleared her throat and made sure to avoid eye contact with Lena, “...you like me?”

“Was it a question?”

Kara gave a single, strong nod. If she was going to embarrass herself she may as well do so confidently.

Lena was silent for long enough to make Kara panic, though. She looked to Lena and found her face was indecipherable. Surely responding to a kiss and then initiating a second kiss was indicative of romantic feelings for someone? Then again, Kara was pretty bad at human social cues. Who knew what Lena was thinking? Not her, that’s for sure.

Suddenly Lena grabbed Kara’s hand and took off. They pushed past the crowds of people at the bar and went through doors and up stairs and across rooms. With each passing step Kara grew more convinced that this was an elaborate ruse and she was about to experience whatever the non-filmed equivalent of punk’d was. Eventually they made it to a section of the casino that Kara guessed was blocked off to the public. There, after five minutes worth of a walking trip and trepidation, Lena finally stopped and spun around - no doubt to finally put Kara out of her misery.

Kara opened her mouth to apologise and to seek forgiveness for her heinous actions however before she could even make a sound Lena pushed her against the wall behind her and suddenly there was pressure across every inch of Kara’s body. Her lips, her wrists - Lena’s body was pressed up against Kara’s so tightly she could barely breathe. Lena’s hands held Kara’s wrists to the wall. It was only through Kara’s self-control that they managed to stay there.

Far too much time to be considered reasonable had passed before Lena finally pulled back, allowing the pair to gasp for breath between kisses. Kara felt like a school kid with her first crush. She’d be making no complaints if they stayed there for hours kissing and pulling and pushing an-

“Kara Danvers.” Lena said finally. She was breathing heavily and her eyes had not moved off of Kara’s lips since they parted. Her hands squeezed around Kara’s wrists and her eyes closed. Kara watched as Lena tried, and failed miserably, to stop herself from leaning back in to kiss her again. Just before their lips met for the fourth time that night, though, Lena managed to say, “I fucking like you a lot.”

It was not particularly eloquent. Perhaps that was what was so charming about it. The powerful, enigmatic, charismatic and charming CEO of LCorp was so into Kara Danvers that all she could manage was ‘I fucking like you a lot’. It was made all the more endearing by the way Lena was now running her hands through Kara’s hair and desperately trying to bring their bodies closer when there were no more gaps to fill.

Kara wrapped her now free arms around Lena and held her tightly. There the pair stayed for longer than either would ever admit to in years to come. Well, Alex would be told the truth. She would then tease Kara whenever she could about the fact that the time they’d spent kissing in a secluded hallway on their first date was longer than Alex’s favourite movie from the Harry Potter series.

Either way, before any of that could eventuate Kara pulled herself free from Lena’s passionate embrace for a brief moment. Looking into Lena’s eyes she found herself still experiencing all those nauseating nervous responses that she had before. This time the only difference was she knew Lena was feeling the exact same thing, at least.

“And you couldn’t have told me that at the bar?”

Lena grinned (causing a cascade of emotion within Kara all at once, once again) and just replied with, “I’ve been told I can be a bit dramatic at times.”

Kara could do nothing but laugh and shake her head. She let herself be pulled in by Lena again. While Lena was forceful and confident in her actions she still felt as if she was treating Kara like she was some precious thing. It felt difficult for Kara to believe, in all honesty, for many of the months following that night that Lena could  _ actually _ like  _ Kara _ .

Kara Danvers - average American girl who was a reporter who had no big investments or properties to show off. Lena Luthor liked  _ her _ . Sure she could fly and shoot fire beams from her eyes but, like, that wasn’t important.

Lena Luthor liked Kara for Kara. When Kara eventually revealed herself as Supergirl to Lena the first thing out of Lena’s mouth was, “You mean I don’t have to be driven eveywhere anymore?”

That hadn’t quite been the reaction Kara had been preparing for to say the least.

“You already knew, didn’t you?”

“Kara I practically live in your apartment and you don’t separate your washing.” Lena kissed Kara’s frown away and said, “You know before I found out, though, I’d always thought Supergirl was out of my league.”

Well, some things come full circle.


End file.
